The Vikings’ 5 Main Draft Needs in 2025
The Minnesota Vikings’ once-promising 2024 campaign is finished. Everything perished in Arizona as the purple team fell at the feet of the Los Angeles Rams, a franchise that will face the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round this Sunday.
Vikings Draft: The Team’s 5 Main Roster Needs
The offseason arrived in a hurry.
So, with no further ado, these are the Vikings’ top five draft needs, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = most urgent need).
Minnesota has the 24th pick in late April, an expected 3rd-Round compensatory pick, and two 5th-Rounders.
5. WR3
Where to Target in Draft:
Round 5
Jalen Nailor performed well some of the time in 2024 but did not consistently thrive as WR3. In fact, when tight end T.J. Hockenson returned in Week 9, Nailor’s production faceplanted for about 7 games until a late-season revival.
Minnesota should have at least one rookie wideout waiting in the wings.
Candidates in Round 5:
Nick Nash (San Jose State)
Ja’Corey Brooks (Louisville)
Antwane Wells Jr. (Ole Miss)
Will Sheppard (Colorado)
Elijah Badger (Florida)
4. RB
Where to Target in Draft:
Round 3
The only running back under contract for the 2025 purple team is Ty Chandler.
Aaron Jones and Cam Akers are tentatively scheduled for free agency. Consequently, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could extend Jones for a year and draft a rookie tailback somewhere in April’s draft. That — or spend a high-to-mid-round pick on a new running back if Jones walks.
Chandler won’t earn the RB1 outright, so Minnesota needs some RB mojo, probably Jones and a youthful halfback.
This is Minnesota’s rushing efficiency per DVOA from the last three seasons, dating back to the dawn of the O’Connell era:
- 2022: 27th
- 2023: 27th
- 2024: 20th
Drafting a running back seems likely. Those above-listed stats are poor.
Candidates in Round 3:
Kaleb Johnson (Iowa)
Quinshon Judkins (Ohio State)
TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State)
Ollie Gordon II (Oklahoma State)
Devin Neal (Kanas)
Dylan Sampson (Tennessee)
3. iDL
Where to Target in Draft:
Round 1
Harrison Phillips, Jalen Redmond, and Levi Drake Rodriguez are under contract next season — and then that’s it at DT. No one else.
From free agency or the draft, the Vikings should add another defensive tackle, the spot currently manned by Jerry Tillery. Vikings fans request this every offseason and usually end up with a Shamar Stephen or Jonathan Bullard. Perhaps the purple front office will finally splash for an impact interior defensive lineman.
The 24th pick, currently owned by Minnesota, could be a prime spot for this roster need.
Candidates in Round 1:
Derrick Harmon (Oregon)
Shemar Steward (Texas A&M)
Walter Nolen (Ole Miss)
Tyleik Williams (Ohio State)
Deone Walker (Kentucky)
2. iOL
Where to Target in Draft:
Round 1 or Round 2 if Trade Back Applies
Although Sam Darnold held the football way too long in the pocket against the Lions and Rams, the offensive line’s interior did not bail him out.
Identifying offensive line problems was glaringly obvious, but O’Connell was sure to call out the trenches. “There’s no question that we got to be able to find a way to give a quarterback time. Especially with players like Jordan Addison, Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, we got to find a way to solidify the interior of the pocket, starting first and foremost,” O’Connell told reporters after Monday’s loss.
Interior offensive line tribulation has been a frequent affliction of Vikings football for over 10 years.
O’Connell added, “There can be a thousand excuses made. But, for me, it’s the foundation of the interior of the pocket that we’re going to have to take a long look at.”
Fixes are coming.
Candidates in Round 1 or 2:
Tyler Booker (Alabama)
Jonah Savaiinaea (Arizona)
Armand Membou (Missouri)
Donovan Jackson (Ohio State)
1. CB
Where to Target in Draft:
Round 1
Mekhi Blackmon, Dwight McGlothern, and NaJee Thompson are the preexisting CB solutions on the books right now for 2025, so, yes, cornerback is the top offseason need. Etch it in stone.
Pro Bowler Byron Murphy may return, which is wonderful, but adding one more impact corner will be vital if Minnesota has Super Bowl visions in 2025 and beyond.
The franchise is bitterly overdue to nail a CB draft pick from Round 1 or 2. That last somewhat successful example occurred 10 years ago — Trae Waynes.
Minnesota could sign a free agent like D.J. Reed or draft a corner with its first pick.
Candidates in Round 1:
Shavon Revel Jr. (East Carolina)
Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame)
Jahdae Barron (Texas)
Trey Amos (Ole Miss)
Of note: Adofo-Mensah has about $70 million in cap space to fix all positions if he doesn’t hand Darnold a contract worth $40+ million per season. Theoretically, if the Vikings hand Darnold a bag, they’d be right back to the Kirk Cousins era of team-building — searching for funds and hoping for the best with bargain-bin signings while boasting decent-not-elite quarterback play.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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